One month after their $39 billion merger was called off in the face of strong government opposition, AT&T and T-Mobile USA have asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve the transfer of $1 billion in spectrum licenses from AT&T to T-Mobile USA.
"The additional spectrum will help meet the growing demand for wireless broadband services," Tom Sugrue, T-Mobile's senior vice president for government affairs, told The Wall Street Journal in an emailed statement. "We hope the FCC will move swiftly to approve the license assignments."
AT&T agreed to give T-Mobile USA the spectrum licenses in 128 cellular marketing areas and pay its parent, Deutsche Telekom AG, $3 billion as part of the merger's breakup fee.
While seeking regulatory approval for the merger, Deutsche Telekom painted an unflattering picture of T-Mobile USA, making it clear that the company was struggling to compete with its larger rivals and other competitors that were growing while T-Mobile USA lost market share.
Earlier this month, though, T-Mobile's top executive sought to assure the public that the company was in a position to get back and keep customers. In its third-quarters results reported in November 2011, the nation's fourth-largest wireless operator gained 126,000 customers. Excluding connected devices, T-Mobile lost 389,000 branded customers on contract.
